Ghana’s Black Queens have kept their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup alive after coming from behind to beat Côte d’Ivoire 2-1 in Casablanca on Thursday.
The victory gives Ghana an important advantage as they continue their fight for a place in the inter-confederation play-offs after missing out on automatic qualification.
Côte d’Ivoire took the lead in the third minute after a VAR review awarded them a penalty. Inès Konan stepped up and converted from the spot to give the Lady Elephants a 1-0 lead.
The Black Queens struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, with Côte d’Ivoire creating more dangerous chances. Princess Marfo came close to equalising, but her effort went wide as the Ivorians went into the break ahead.
Ghana thought they had drawn level shortly after the restart when Stella Nyamekye found the net. However, the goal was later ruled out by VAR after the referee determined that Côte d’Ivoire goalkeeper Océane Lamfir had been fouled during the build-up.
The Black Queens continued to push for an equaliser and got their reward in the 58th minute.
Marfo rose above the Ivorian defence to connect with a corner and headed the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 1-1.
Ghana then completed the comeback after another VAR review resulted in a penalty for handball.
Josephine Bonsu stepped up and calmly converted the spot-kick to put the Black Queens 2-1 ahead.
Côte d’Ivoire increased the pressure in search of an equaliser, but Ghana’s defence remained strong and held on to secure the important victory.
The Black Queens also had to deal with injury problems during the match. Doris Boaduwaa and Evelyn Badu were forced off before Susan Ama Duah was stretchered off late in the game.
Despite the setbacks, Ghana held on to claim a valuable win and keep their World Cup hopes alive.
The Black Queens will now look to build on the result as they continue their bid to reach the next stage of the qualification process.
The first phase of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup inter-confederation play-off tournament is scheduled for November and December 2026, with the second phase expected to take place in February 2027.
